BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

Prof Shyamlee Solanki

 Reasons for writing a business letter
• To provide a convenient and inexpensive
means of communication without personal
contact.
• To seek or give information
• To furnish evidence of transaction entered
into ,
• To provide record for future reference.
• It helps to widen contacts
 Reasons for writing a business letter
• Helps in sharing information

• It provides an authoritative proof

• Helps in building good will

• It has a lasting impression

NEED AND IMPORTANCE Of BUSINESS
WRITING
• Koli & Rai: A business letter is a piece of
conversation by post. It is the backbone of a
successful business house. “ A good letter can pacify
an angry customer as much as a bad one can anger a
friendly one. It may sell a new product or spoil the
sales of an established one, collect debts without
hurting the customer’s feelings or lose both the
money and the customer, refuse the request yet win
respect or grant the respect yet incur ill will”.
 Importance of letter writing
• Roy w. Poe: “Letters are not merely media of
communication. They are effective substitutes
for face to face visits; making and keeping
friends; attracting and holding customers and
building a favorable image for your company”
Principles of Business Correspondence:
• The You- Attitude

• Emphasize the positive

• Clarity and conciseness

• Courtesy and consideration

• Avoid verbosity/ jargon

 You- Attitude:
• Tactic of viewing the letter from the reader’s point of
view . The letter should be written constantly
keeping before oneself the readers view.
• The writer should ask himself how would I react if I
receive this letter?
• You- attitude involves choosing words and strategies
that will bring a favourable response in their mind.
 You- Attitude:
• You- attitude implies placing the reader in the
centre and talking to them and talking about
them.
• It means avoiding the use of word I and WE
and using the word YOU as many times as
possible.
• Readers respond best when there own
interests are being considered.
 You- Attitude:contd…
To achieve this:
1. Stick to the subject that gives pleasure to your
reader
2. Involve the reader as much as possible
3. Address your reader as an individual and not
a part of the crowd.
4. Point out qualities related to reader’s
advantage like utility, pleasure, profit,
enjoyment.
 You- attitude
You- attitude is very effective in business letters. If an
applicant mentally puts himself in the place of the
employer while drafting the letter he will be able to
emphasize the right qualities that will get him the
job.
Ex. I want to express my sincere thanks for the good
words.
You- attitude: Thank you for your kind words.
 Emphasize the positive:
• Every letter going from the company should be an
ambassador and carry a message and enhance the reputation
of the firm.
• One should adapt the salesman's approach i.e. persuading
people.
• In a business letter the reader accepts no’s and sorry’s if they
are expressed in a positive manner.
• The refusal should be held back till you give the reason for the
decision you have taken as this prepares the reader for the
negative answer.
• Yes to a request should be said at once and it obtains goodwill
and then the actual message.
 Emphasize the positive:
• To achieve positive attitude in a letter:
1. Stress what you can do and not what you
cannot.
2. Stay away from negative words and phrases.
3. Do more than you have to
4. Time your letters for best results.
5. Give good news first and bad news later.
 Courtesy and consideration:
• Courtesy consists in using polite phrases and also
being considerate towards your reader.
• It is the quality that helps us to refuse a customers'
request, or perform a favor and at the same time
keep a friend; to refuse a customer’s request for
credit without killing all hope of future business.
• To be courteous is to be polite, obliging, friendly and
respectful in manner and in action.
 Courtesy and consideration
• It is a tangible asset at all times and in all
circumstances.
• It is the lubricant that keeps the complicated
machinery of all good relations functioning
smoothly.
 Courtesy and consideration
• Consideration can be brought in by thinking more of
the reader.
• Put yourself in his place.
• Show audience benefit.
 To achieve courtesy and consideration

1. Deal promptly with all letters needing a reply .

2. Omit irritating expressions like you are unaware,
you neglected, you overlooked.
3. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative
4. Use expressions that show respect
5. Be polite out of respect, concern for others which
generates from sincere you-attitude.
 Clarity and conciseness:
• Clarity in a business letter implies that the message be crystal
clear
• In a business letter clarity of thought and clarity of
expressions should be there.
• Clarity of thought is a mental process and clarity of expression
relates to the use of language as a vehicle to express that
thought.
• Avoid sentences and words that give confused thinking and
ambiguous situation.
 Clarity and Conciseness:
• Lost chesterfield said:
“Every paragraph should be so clear and
unambiguous that the dullest fellow in
the world may not be able to
misunderstand it, nor be obliged to read
it twice in order to understand it”.
 Conciseness:
• Do not waste words
• Transmit maximum information by using
minimum words
• Avoid redundant phrases and repetition
• Use familiar words
• Use concrete expressions
• Only relevant facts
• Prefer active constructions
 Avoid verbosity/ Commercial jargon
• Commercial jargon refers to peculiar expressions used
in business letters which make them stiff and formal.
• These are now dismissed as jargon as they are being
stiff and formal
• As these are impersonal they rarely succeeds in
winning the reader’s attention.
• These makes the letters look pompous and stuffy and
stale.
• These overblown expressions like we beg, oblige,
enclosed please find, attached herewith are out-dated
etc.
 Jargons commonly used
Jargon Simplicity
• I am in receipt of your letter • Thank you for your letter
• I beg to acknowledge • Thank you for your letter
receipt of your letter • Please send a receipt for it
• Kindly acknowledge receipt • We enclose a cheque of Rs.
of same per return 10,000.
• Enclosed herewith please
find the cheque to the value
of Rs. 10,000
Layout of a Business Letter

Parts of a business letter

 Parts of a Business letter
There are eight basic parts of a letter and other are
optional parts.
1. Heading
2. Dateline
3. Inside address
4. Subject
5. Salutation
6. Body of the letter
7. Complementary close
8. Signature block
 Heading
• Usually Organizations use printed letterheads where
the Name of the company is in capital letters,
Address in small letters, fax numbers and telephone
numbers with codes, telegraphic address if any, and
Email address.

VOLTAS ENGINEERING WORKS LTD.

121, Princess Street, Mumbai- 400011
2 Lines gap to be left

Telephone No. (022) 26843521 Website: [email protected]

Fax No. (022) 28835679 Email: [email protected]
 Date line
• Two lines below the heading
• No abbreviations to be used while writing
dates. Month should be written in full
• Date-Month –Year or Month- Date – Year

• 3 September, 2015 or August 28 , 2015

 Inside Address
• Two lines below the Date line or if reference
number present then two lines below the
reference line. Reference line is an optional part of
the letter.
• Inside address consists Full name of the person,
His designation, business address.
• If the person holds a title than the accepted
abbreviation.
• Shri R.P. Asthana
General Manager
Zenith Orchards Limited,
55, Green Hills
Hyderabad- 500086
• Professional Titles are written in this
manner.
Mr. or Sri for a man
Mrs. Ms. Shrimati for woman
Messrs is a plural for Mr. and is used while
addressing a partnership firm
Titles such as Colonel, Professor. Doctor.
Reverend are used as follows
 Titles:
• Professional Titles are written in this manner.
Mr. or Shri for a man
Mrs. Ms. Shrimati for woman
Messrs is a plural for Mr. and is used while
addressing a partnership firm
Titles such as Colonel, Professor. Doctor.
Reverend are used as follows
Col. R.L. Bhatia Prof. M. L. Rana
Capt. P. N. Nagesh Dr. (Mrs.) S Rawat
Rev. P.T. Joseph Padmashri R. S. Lugani
 Subject line
• If attention line is present then after salutation, it
can be placed before or after the salutation
leaving 2 lines
• It helps to quickly identify the subject of
correspondence.
• It should be written in capital letters, or italicize or
underlined.

Subject: Your August 12 inquiry about steel

racks
 Salutation
• Two lines below Inside address or if attention Line
present then two lines below attention Line.
Attention line is an optional part of a letter and
used when a particular person is addressed.
i. Sir Formal
ii. Madam
iii. Dear Sir/ Dear Madam Less formal
iv. Dear Mr. Smith
v. Dear Ms. Jones
vi. Dear Sirs Demi Official
 Body of the letter:
• The body of the letter carries its message or
content.
• Generally divided in to 3 or 4 paragraphs.
• Opening paragraph links up the correspondence
and builds the rapport with the reader
• The second paragraph is the main paragraph that
contains the subject
• The third paragraph may extend with subject
• The fourth or the final paragraph brings the letter
a goodwill ending, leaving the door open for
further business. The last paragraph brings the
letter to a close on a positive note.
• Leave one line between the paragraphs
 Complimentary close
• Two line below the last line
Sir/ Madam
Dear Sir Yours faithfully
Dear Madam Yours truly

Dear Mr. Smith

Dear Sheila Yours sincerely
Dear Prof. Tiwari
 Signature block
• Two lines below the last paragraph

• Complementary close Yours faithfully

Signature 4 lines for

signature
Name in brackets (Dr. Shyamlee Solanki)
Designation Controller Examinations
 Optional Parts
• Enclosures (Encl): when letter carries
documents
• Postscript: post script or P.S. is written if the
writer has forgotten to mention something
important in the letter.
• ‘CC’ or Carbon Copy notation when copies of
letter is sent to other people directly or
indirectly concerned with the subject.
• Reference initials: these are typed initials of
the person who dictates the letter and the one
who types it. Typed in the left as HKS/ NB
Formats of letters

Dr Shyamlee Solanki
Full Block Format

39
 Modified Block
• Return Address Line 1 1
Return Address Line 2
• Date (Month Day, Year) 2
• In a Modified Block
Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. Full name of recipient. 3
format letter all text is •
Title/Position of Recipient.
Company Name
aligned to the left Address Line 1
Address Line 2
margin, except for the • Dear Ms./Mrs./Mr. Last Name: 4
author's address, date, • Subject: Title of Subject 5
• Body
and closing. • .................................................................
.................................................................
......................
• Paragraphs are not • ................................................................
.................................................................
.......................
indented. • .................................................................
.................................................................
.....................6
• Open punctuation is Closing (Sincerely...),7

used. •
•
Signature 8
Your Name (Printed) 9
Your Title

•
Enclosures (2) 10
Typist Initials. 11
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 Semi-Block
• Return Address Line 1 1
Return Address Line 2
• Date (Month Day, Year) 2

• Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. Full name of recipient. 3

Title/Position of Recipient.
• In a Semi-Block format Company Name
Address Line 1

letter all text is aligned •

Address Line 2
Dear Ms./Mrs./Mr. Last Name: 4

to the left margin, •

•
Subject: Title of Subject 5
Body Paragraph 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..................................................................
except for the author's •
...................................
Body Paragraph 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
address, date, and ..................................................................
...................................

closing. • Body Paragraph 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

..................................................................
...................................6

• Paragraphs are Closing (Sincerely...), 7

• Signature 8
indented. • Your Name (Printed) 9
Your Title

• Mixed punctuation is Enclosures (2) 10

Typist Initials. 11
used.

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• Complete
Block Form

43
Thank you